The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

Mostly magical movie of my life. I cried when he wrote that letter. Miyazaki is on of the few artists in this modern world and we need to appreciate him for that. Legends never die.

This was a deeply moving look at the work ethic and - dare I say - the spirit of Hayao Miyazaki. Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most inspirational storytellers of all time, and if you haven't already seen his movies, I recommend checking out at least one if not all of them if you're a regular filmgoer or an aspiring filmmaker. The Ghibli movies were an eye-opening experience for me growing up, and even now, I consider them to be very influential, especially those by Miyazaki. Knowing how special they were, and given how nostalgic I was feeling, I really really wanted to cry after watching this documentary, as silly as that sounds. I hope Miyazaki finishes his next movie, 'How Do You Live?' I look forward to seeing it if it comes out.

Before I watched this documentary about Studio Ghibli and its creator, Hayao Miyazaki, I knew very little about the man but loved his films. Now, after having seen this movie, I kind of wish I hadn't. After all, in my mind, I assumed that Ghibli must have been some sort of magical place where fun and fantasy skipped hand in hand. However, it turned out to be a very different sort of film--a bit slow and amazingly downbeat!

The style of this documentary by Mami Sunada is rather free-form. It does not offer a chronological discussion of the history of Miyazaki or the studio. Instead, it just lets the staff of Ghibli (mostly but not exclusively Miyazaki) talk and there isn't much in the way of structure. At times, you hear folks talk about some of this history, but people wanting this sort of film should look elsewhere. So much of the film consists of behind the scenes discussions--some of which really surprised me. If Miyazaki didn't like someone or their work, he said so without being particularly diplomatic about this. And, to be fair, some of his employees talked about him in less than glowing terms and felt free to do so! But what really got me was how the man seemed to have an extremely depressive personality. It's not going out on a limb to draw that conclusion, either, with his comments throughout the film such as "I don't ever feel happy in my daily life" and "filmmaking only brings suffering". Wow...kind of a downer, don't you think? He also very candidly said that he didn't think the studio would survive after his death or with his son in charge. Ouch.

So is this documentary any good? Well, it all depends. If you want honesty, and too often biopics are incredibly dishonest, this one is honest...showing Miyazaki warts and all. However, if you want to enjoy a documentary or feel uplifted, you'd best try something else.

Wonderful and insightful movie about Hayao Miyazaki's life and work at the famous Studio Ghibli, responsible for animation classics such as "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Spirited Away", during the making of Oscar-nominated "The Wind Rises", his most personal work to date and presumably the last. The documentary offers many personal views from the director, with plenty of photographs and archive footage, and also incredible shots of the strenuous process of making traditional hand-draw animation. At 72 years old, and facing a possible retirement, Miyazaki still manages to instill hope for more to come. Beautifully done.

Detailed observational doco filmed in Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Gibli building. The studio cat gets as much screen time as Takahata working down the road on The TALE of PRINCESS KAGYUA.

The bulk of the footage covers Miyazaki finalizing AS the WIND RISES working in his computer free headquarters, recording voice tracks and music and showing the finished film to his staff.The only person in a suit is the legal rep.

Not an unblemished study, as this is likely to be the last film of both these major figures in animation, the record of their work has an extra, slightly melancholy feeling.